Worth Waiting For

Last June, all Zacary really wanted for his birthday was to go on a backpacking trip with Derrick. The kid (like his father) absolutely LOVES to hike, but we've never actually been able to take him backpacking. So for his birthday (last year) we bought him a backpack and got him all excited...but it never happened! Life just got in the way I guess. So we rainchecked him. Now, a year later, Zac finally got to go on his long awaited backpacking trip! I think we should make it a habit to make the kids wait a full year for their birthday wish, since they sure seem to appreciate it more! I was so happy that they took a lot of pictures, because it's fun to see exactly how happy Zacary looks in all of them. He looks like he's about to burst with excitement! So Derrick, Skyler, and Zac spent three days hiking Palisades Creek. They hiked up the first day, about seven miles, and spent the whole next day at the lake. Then they came home on the third day. I was a pretty jealous woman, since I also LOVE to hike, but I suppose it's good for the boys to have 'guy time' too.
Tannon (still just a bit too small to make the hike) and Myah and I stayed home and had a fun time too. We went to see Kung Foo Panda (GREAT SHOW!), went out to dinner at Texas Road House, and spent the day at the pool on Saturday. I thought all of the fun would wipe me out, but it was great. Life was pretty easy with just two kids. It made all of the difference in the world!

The highlight of the trip was that they caught TWELVE fish! Derrick's one failure in his twelve and a half years of fatherhood (this is according to him, not me) is that he's never once been able to help his boys catch a fish! He doesn't know how to fish himself, and try as he might, he just couldn't seem to get that first catch! At first, he used to take the boys quite often, in hopes of the big catch. But over the years, he's gradually given up on the whole fishing thing. Poor guy. Once, he even asked if there was someplace he could go for 'fishing lessons'. But Zac insisted on taking fishing gear up to the lake...and they did it! Who was happier, Derrick or the boys? I'm not sure! They weren't actually able to EAT any of the fish, since they didn't know how to clean them. I guess they'll learn that little bit of information for next time!

The first catch! Wahoo!!!!

Skyler has waited twelve long years for this catch!

What kind of comment could I possible write about this picture???
This picture sums it all up for me...the kid was even happy to wash dishes!!!

So this was a good weekend for everyone! The boys saw everything from mountain goats, to moose, but thankfully no bears. They even made friends with a rock chuck! And I really loved the time I had with Tannon and Myah too! Time together seems to be something that we never have enough of, so we're always thankful for every chance that we get!